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Purpose. Family caregivers are under a lot of burden during the treatment of patients with COVID-19. This study aimed at determining the effect of education through telenursing on the caregiver burden among family caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Design and Methods. This was a randomized clinical trial that was performed on 66 caregivers of COVID-19 patients discharged from Vasei Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran, during 6months from March to August 2021. The research units were selected using the convenience sampling method and were randomly allocated to two groups, intervention and control, by using permutation blocks. The training workshop and telenursing were conducted in the experiment group, and the control group received only usual care. Novak and Guest care burden scale and demographic questionnaire were collected online by caregivers before and one month after the intervention. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 24 and paired t-test, independent t-test, Fisher's exact test, chi-square tests, and covariance analysis. The significance level of the tests was considered to be 5%. Findings. After training the intervention group, the mean caregiver burden before and one month after the intervention was significantly decreased compared to the control group (p, Author(s): Mostafa Rad [1]; Fatemeh Rajab Dizavandi [2]; Ahmad Rajab Dizavandi (corresponding author) [3] 1. Introduction Transferring the care of COVID-19 patients from the hospital to home care has led [...]

The current research has been carried out with the aim of presenting the pattern of combined shopping behavior of customers in large chain stores. This research is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of survey-exploratory approach. The statistical population of this research was a group of marketing experts in the retail industry and were interviewed in depth. This selection and conducting of interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached and then it was stopped. In this research, the snowball sampling method was used and in this process, 9 experts were interviewed in depth. In this research, since the foundational data theory method was used, the main tool for data collection was in-depth and unstructured interviews with human resources experts. Finally, after three open, central and selective codings, the conceptual model of the research was designed based on the paradigm model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Statins play a vital role in the management of high-risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two doses of 40 and 80 mg of atorvastatin on lipid profiles and inflammatory markers among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Materials and Methods: This single-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients with ACS referred to Heshmatiyeh Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to either 80 mg/day (atorvastatin, 80 mg/day) or 40 mg/day intervention (atorvastatin, 40 mg/day) groups. Serum lipid profiles (low-density lipoprotein [LDL], high-density lipoprotein [HDL], triglyceride [TG], and total cholesterol), an inflammatory marker (creatine phosphokinase [CPK]), and liver function biomarkers (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase) were assessed before starting treatment and 3 months later. Results: According to the paired t-test, there was a significant difference before and after intervention in each group regarding mean LDL and HDL values (P < 0.05). The result of the ANCOVA test revealed that the LDL and CPK was substantially lower in the 80 mg/day group as compared to the 40 mg/day group after 3-month intervention (62.45 ± 16.78 mg for 80 mg/day vs. 73.63 ± 20.00 for 40 mg/day P = 0.040 and 84.85 ± 6.53 IU/L for 80 mg/day vs. 120.70 ± 6.41 IU/L for 40 mg/day P = 0.001, respectively). Although the mean of HDL, TG, and cholesterol in the 80 mg/day group was lower than that of the 40 mg/day group after implementing the intervention, these differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Findings suggest that increasing the dose of atorvastatin decreases the mean serum levels of LDL and CPK but has no effect on the mean serum HDL levels and liver function biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Ramadan, people of Muslim faith fast by not eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset. This is likely to have physiological and psychological consequences for fasters, and societal and economic impacts on the wider population. We investigate whether, during this voluntary and temporally limited fast, reminders of food can impair the fasters' reaction time and accuracy on a non-food-related test of cognitive control. Using a repeated measures design in a sample of Ramadan fasters (N = 190), we find that when food is made salient, fasters are slower and less accurate during Ramadan compared with after Ramadan. Control participants perform similarly across time. Furthermore, during Ramadan performances vary by how recently people had their last meal. Potential mechanisms are suggested, grounded in research on resource scarcity, commitment, and thought suppression, as well as the psychology of rituals and self-regulation, and implications for people who fast for religious or health reasons are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Informal caregivers of COVID-19 patients, who are in direct contact with patients and the virus, experience many psychological issues and are prone to Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD). Accordingly, this study aims to determine the effects of virtual training of the Benson Relaxation Technique (BRT) on IAD in the informal caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 54 informal caregivers of COVID-19 patients who scored X ≥20 on the health anxiety inventory (HAI) by Salkovskis. They were randomly divided into control (n=28) and intervention (n=26) groups. The intervention group received the BRT audio file and pamphlet through messengers, and applied this technique twice a day, each for 20 min, for 3 weeks. However, the control group did not receive any training. Subsequently, after 3 weeks, HAI was completed by both groups again. Data analysis was done using SPSS software, version 22. Results: The mean score of IAD in the informal caregivers of the patients before the intervention in the experimental and the control groups was 24.88±5.89 and 23.27±5.64, respectively. After the intervention, the mean score of the IAD in the informal caregivers of the patients in the intervention and the control groups changed to 17.30±7.15 and 19.78±7.14, respectively. The result of the t-test showed a significant difference between the changes in the IAD scores of the two groups after the implementation of the intervention (P=0.046). Conclusion: The findings show that the virtual training of BRT, as a comprehensive, simple, and inexpensive method, reduces IAD in the informal caregivers of COVID-19 patients. The healthcare systems can take steps to support these people who are exposed to IAD by providing virtual training of BRT to informal caregivers of COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A near-miss experience has long-term and major impacts on mothers and their families. Therefore, evaluating the nature of maternal near-miss (MNM) could shed light on various aspects of the associated complications in women. The present study aimed to determine the lived experiences of women with MNM. Methods and materials: This qualitative research was conducted using conventional content analysis on 10 mothers with an MNM experience, who were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews about the experiences of the mothers during and after the near-miss incident. Data analysis was performed using the conventional content analysis technique. Results: Five main categories were extracted, including fears and concerns, failure to accept and adapt, tolerating physical and psychological pain and hardships, death experience, and medical team mismanagement. Regret and fear of raising the child with siblings, fear of the remarriage of the spouse, and fear of complications and costs were among the subcategories of fears and concerns. Lack of adaptation to the complications and prolonged mourning were the subcategories of failure to accept and adapt, and the subcategories of tolerating physical and psychological pain and hardships were a sense of guilt, tolerating physical pain, hopelessness, irritability, hatred toward the medical team, and postpartum depression. In addition, returning to normal life, and seeing/actually feeling death were the subcategories of the death experience. The subcategories of the medical team mismanagement included medical errors, lack of support/negligence, communication problems, and distrust of the medical center. Discussion: According to the results, the mothers were faced with multiple problems, including fears and concerns, failure to adapt to the problem, and numerous physical and psychological issues after an MNM experience. However, they believed that medical errors, the improper communications of the medical team, and their negligence toward patients were among the factors intensifying the complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The celebration of university students’ marriage ceremonies in Iran nearly dates back three decades, but its positive and negative aspects require further reconsideration. This study is intended to explore those aspects in the words of university students who married during their studies at the university. Methods: In this qualitative study, a qualitative content analysis method was used to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of students. Sixteen university students (8 couples) were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed at Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2016. The participants, who were newly-wed couples with an age range of 18 to 28 years, attended a semi-structured in-depth interview. Results: The analyzed data emerged as four major categories (and eleven subcategories), including (a) inspirational and prompting factors (membership in the student unions, enhanced opportunity to know peers, attitude change towards marriage on the campus, and peers sharing experiences of marriage on the campus), (b) existence of supportive resources (existence of social support, and existence of economic support for marriage on the campus), (c) barriers and failing marriages (barriers against marriage on the campus and causes of failure), and (d) achievements in marital life (social maturation, enhancing life goals, and maturational development in the married life). Conclusion: University students’ marriage on campus offers couples a successful married life in the future. Social maturation and development in married life are the fruit of such marriages; however, economic problems and low social and family support are still among the concerns for university students wishing to marry at the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]